Grella calls time on career
January 28, 2013 - 4:21PM
Michael Lynch
Former Socceroo Vince Grellas bid to make a comeback through the A-League is over, the midfielder announcing his retirement from the game on Monday afternoon.
Grella, who signed for Melbourne Heart earlier this season, made his first appearance for the club in Saturday evenings disappointing loss to West Sydney Wanderers.
The 33-year-old came off the bench in the second half but tore a calf muscle shortly afterwards, although he carried on to the end of the match.
But the Melbourne-born Grella has decided that his body simply cannot cope any longer with the stresses and strains required to play top level football and has called it quits.
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He had hoped to help one of his former international colleagues, John Aloisi, guide Heart to the finals in the latters first season coaching.
Grella has had a distinguished career and finishes as one of Australias most highly regarded Socceroos.
The blond-haired midfielder began his career with Canberra Cosmos in the old NSL, then played for Carlton where he appeared in a grand final as a teenager before leaving for Italy along with his Carlton team-mate and friend Mark Bresciano.
The pair have been closely linked throughout their careers as they played together for Empoli and Parma in the Serie A, as well as for the Socceroos where they were both key members of Australias squad for the 2006 and 2010 World Cup.
Grellas final foray in the big time came when he left Italy to join Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League. But his time at the Lancashire club was cruelled by injury, and he appeared only sporadically for the Ewood Park club in his three seasons at Rovers.
He returned to Australia for this A-League season, leaving his family in Italy, in a bid to regain fitness and opted to play for Aloisi, who was a close friend when the two were playing in the national team. But a series of breakdowns in training proved frustrating, and Saturdays injury draws the curtain down on what has been a fine career at the highest levels of the game, especially in Italy.
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/grella-calls-time-on-career-20130128-2dgki.html
